Land for Maine's Future Program

Farmland Conservation

SUMMARY:
Land for Maine’s Future Program (LMFP) established in 1987 is the only state funding program that includes farmland conservation through the fee acquisition or the purchase of development rights (conservation easement) as part of its mandate. The LMFP and the Maine Department of Agriculture work in partnership to solicit Federal and private dollars, identify good projects, and bring proposals focused specifically on farmland conservation before the LMF Board. This partnership has resulted in many successful proposals for federal dollars through the U.S.D.A. Natural Resources Conservation Service’s “Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program”.

LMF FARMLAND CONSERVATION PROJECTS COMPLETED:
To date the Land for Maine’s Future Program has completed (35) projects which conserve farmlands. These are listed below:

Project Name	Town Located	Acres Protected	Land Protection Mechanism
Alice Wheeler Farm	Richmond	307	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Commissary Point	Whiting	200	*Fee and*
		50	*Conservation Easement*
Tide Mill Farm	Whiting	1,520	*Conservation Easement*
Wilshore Farm	Falmouth	183	*Conservation Easement*
Bowden Farm	Blue Hill	208	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Hiatt Farm	Dresden	92	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Lakeside Orchards	Manchester	189	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Beech Hill	Rockport	100	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Lorio Farm	Penobscot	116	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Clarry Hill – Jackson Farm	Waldoboro	216.5	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Clarry Hill – MVLT tract	Union	25.5	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Jordan Farm	Cape Elizabeth	47	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Meserve Farm	Scarborough	424.4	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Packard-Littlefield Farm	Lisbon	194.7	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Five Fields Farm	Bridgton	204	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Lover’s Brook Farm	Berwick/So. Berwick	83	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Hanson Farm	Sanford	284	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Sabbathday Lake	New Gloucester	1,635	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Tibbetts Farm	Berwick	259.5	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Crystal Spring Farm - North	Brunswick	155	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Mitchell-Ledge Farm	Freeport	105	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Hawes-Prairie Road	Unity	163.8	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Smith-Dutton Farm	Unity	217.7	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Rudolph Farm	Unity	114	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Hallelujah Farm	Lisbon	170	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Perkins -Backland	Albion/ Unity	137	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Davis Farm	Durham	70	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Noon Family Sheep Farm	Sanford/Springvale	72	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Albion Bread Bakery Farm	Albion	235	Agricultural Conservation Easement
River Rise Farm I	Turner Turner	116 83	Agricultural Conservation Easement Conservation Easement
River Rise Farm II	Turner Turner	128 264	Agricultural Conservation Easement Conservation Easement
King Hill Farm	Penobscot	84.5	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Clark Farm	Windham	217	Agricultural Conservation Easement
Kents Hill aka Belle Vue Farm	Readfield	91.6	Agricultural Conservation Easement

LMF Farmland Acreage Protected to Date: Agricultural Conservation Easement: 6545.7 ± acres; Fee and Conservation Easement: 2,505 acres.

STATEWIDE INTEREST. The participation from the farm community has reflected statewide interest to each of LMFB’s “Call for Proposals.” Beyond the towns listed above, applications have also come from: Fayette, Camden, Freeport, Standish, Dover-Foxcroft, Sebec, Topsham, Gorham

FURTHER INFORMATION: For information concerning the Land for Maine’s Future Program, you can reach LMF staff at LMF (207) 624-6213 or visit our website at www.maine.gov/spo/lmf. For further information about the Maine Department of Agriculture farmland protection efforts underway in Maine, you may reach agency staff directly at (207) 287- 7520 or http://www.maine.gov/agriculture/mpd/farmland/. Your local land trust may also be contacted about land conservation in your area.